Tube dispensing device



Feb. 15, 1949. H, Q @LES 2,461,891

TUBE DISPENS ING DEVICE Filed March 14, 1946 ZhVe/Ltor Enemy G GL'Zes Patented Feb. 15, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TUBE DISPENSING DEVICE Henry G. Giles, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application March 14, 1946, Serial No. 654,280

This invention relates to a tube dispensing device and, more specifically, to a device for squeezing pasty material, such as toothpaste, from a tubular container having collapsible walls.

A wide variety of pasty materials, such as toothpaste, soaps, creams, vpaints and greases and the like are packaged in tubular containers having collapsible walls of plastic, metal or other suitable material. The contents of any such tubular container is removed by manually collapsing the walls of the container. However, almost invariably the entire contents of a tube cannot be completely removed since some of it remains trapped in wrinkled Wall portions, hence there is a waste of such material. Furthermore, such tubular containers do not readily lend themselves for use in public bathrooms and the like since they are somewhat unsightly and require the use of both hands for the dispensing of their contents, furthermore, theyare readily portable and easily subject to theft or misplacement.

An object of my invention is to provide a dispensing device for overcoming the above-named diiculties and for effectively squeezing out, in a progressive manner, the entire contents of a tubular container having readily collapsible walls.

A more specific object of my invention is to provide a tube dispensing device that may be readily mounted on a wall and which isy effective to progressively squeeze the walls of a collapsible container by a rolling motion ofan operating member so as to dispense any desired amount of the pasty contents.

A still more specific object of my invention is to provide a tube dispensing device for squeezing predetermined amounts of pasty material from a collapsible tubular container, which device includes an operating element in the form of a ball, cylinder, or the like, which rolls on one surface of the tube while the tube lies in a channel of a shape corresponding to the operating member so as to progressively collapse the sandwiched walls of the tube into the shape of the channel and thus progressively squeeze out the pasty -contents of the tube, depending upon the extent of rolling of the operating element.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification taken with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a top view of a tube dispensing device embodying the principles of my invention;

Figure 2 is a front view of the device shown in Figure 1 with parts shown broken away;

1 Claim. (Cl. 222-4101) Figure 3 is a cross-sectional View taken along line lIlI--III of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a top view, with a portion shown broken away, of a modified form of housing for the device shown in Figures 1 to 3, and

Figure 5 isa cross-sectional view of a modified form of housing from that shown in Aany of the previous figures.

Referring more particularly to Figures 1, 2 and 3, numeral I denotes a housing made of metal, plastic, or other suitable material and shaped somewhat in the form of a hollow cylinder cut in half lengthwise. On diametrically opposite sides of housing I are provided racks or tracks 2 and 3 having gear teeth. Located immediately above such tracks are provided smooth surfaced .tracks Il and 5 which confront tracks 2 and 3 but are offset with respect thereto as appears more clearly in Figures 1 and 3. Housing I is of semicircular cross-section as shown more clearly in Figure 3. A ball 6 of hard rubber, wood, metal, or any other suitable material, is adapted to roll along the semicylindrical channel formed in housing I.' Such rolling motion is provided by virtue of a shaft l which extends diametrically through ball G and is rigidly fastened with respect thereto. The shaft 'l has gear teeth extending radially of .the aXis of ball 6, hence serving to key the ball to the shaft. Portions la and 'Ib of shaft l are 'reduced in diameter and have smooth round surfaces so as to roll on the smooth surfaces of track l and track 5, respectively. A handle of knob 8 is fastened to one end of shaft 'I and is restrained from rotary movement with respect thereto by virtue of the keying effect of the gear teeth of shaft 1 extenda screw or other supporting element may be inserted to verticallysupport the device on a wall, such as 'a bathroom wall, in which case the opening of lthe tubular container Ill would be dis-A posed in a lowermost position.

In operation, the full tube II) is inserted in housing I, while the ball is in the extreme right position, as viewed in Figure 1. When it is desired to squeeze out a little of the pasty contents of tube I0, it is merely necessary to turn knob 8 on its axis so that gear or pinion portions le and 1f of shaft 'I will mesh with respect to the rack or gear tracks 2 and 3 so as to positively effeet a rolling motion of ball 6 along the semicircular channel formed in housing The resistance offered by the contents of tube I will push the ball upwardly, as viewed in Figure 2, hence causing the smooth shaft portions 'la and 'l'b to roll along the under surface of smooth tracks 4 and 5. Of course, when the entire contents of tube ||l has been removed, -itsis-merely necessary to roll ball 6 from the extreme left to the extreme right position, as viewed in VVVFigure Y|, and then replace the emptied'tube-l with a new tube.

Figure 4 is a top View of a modifiedform of housing wherein the housing I instead of being inthe form of a hollow'cylinder cut substantially halfway along its length, as in Figure 1, is insteadg'inthe form of a complete hollow cylinder having 'only an opening le of somewhat flattened elliptical shape-at the top thereof, being merely largeenough-so that a tubular container may be inserted therethrough. The remaining structure is substantially identical with that shown in the previous figures, except that an additional arm orsupportmemberV |f is provided which is similartolczof Figure y1 so as to give two points of support for mounting the housing.

.-Aihandle 24 pivoted to the housing at 25 may serveV as aclosure element for selectively coveringor uncovering the opening of tube |U therebyfreplacingoap I2 of tube I0.

Figure shows, in cross-section, a modified form of operating member which is in the form of a cylinder 20 instead of ball 6 and through thevaxis of which there extends a shaft 2| nonrotatably secured to the cylinder by the keying effectio'f the radially extending teeth 2|a integrally formed on shaft 2|. At one end of the shaftlthereis rigidly secured a handle or knob 221which is keyed to a toothed portion of shaft 2| extending therein. The housing 23 has a rectangular cross-section and thus provides a flattened channel including a flat surface along which cylinder "20.may be rolled. Cut-away portions' 23band 23o of shaft 2| are smooth and roll ori-smooth track surfaces formed in the sidewalls of housing 23 while surfaces 23d and 23,7e of the housing are geared forming racks in geared relationship with the pinion portions 2|a and 2lb of shaft 2|.

Theoperation of the device shown in Figure 5 is identical with that of the devices shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, the only exception being that a cylinder is rolled on a channeled track instead of having a ball rolled on a semicircular track. The housing for the structure in Figure 5 should have a semi-cylindrical end surface or head portion to conform to the contour of the roller.

vIt Vwill be apparent to those skilled in the art that the rolling or operating member may have 4 shapes other than that of a ball or cylinder such as elements of frustoconical or trapezium crosssection.

While I have illustrated and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, it will be understood that this is by Way of illustration only and that various changes and modifications may be made within the contemplation of my invention and within the scope of the following claim.

`I claim:

A device for `dispensing'the pasty contents of a collapsible-walled tubular container, comprising 4a hollow cylindrical housing member having a Vpair offintegrally formed racks whose teeth are disposed longitudinally and at diametrically opposite portions of said housing member, and having-a .pair of integrally formed tracks confronting said racks in spaced parallel relationship but ."being offset laterally with respect thereto, a ballshaped operating member having a shaft extending centrallytherethrough in fixed `relationship andhavinglpinion portions that mesh with saidfracks yand having smooth portions'thatare adaptedfto'roll onsaid tracks,.and ahandlefsecured to the end of `said shaft for manually rotating the shaft so'that by-virtue of the rack-andpinion drive said ball-shapedoperating member will yroll longitudinally inside said housing-member so as to squeeze out the'contentsfof saidcon tainer sandwiched between said `operating member and'housing andset upreactionfforces on said tracks, the radius of the ball-shaped member plus thedouble thickness ofthe container wall being substantially equal to the fra'dius of said `housing member, said housing `memberhaving an opening disposed longitudinally on'one side thereofthat is suiciently large as.to allow introduction of the tubular container therethroughtwhen said ball-shapedmember is in .a retracted position, said housing having .a neck portion aty one end thereoffinto Which acorrespondingly shaped neck portion ofthecontainer will snugly'fit and which is suilicientlylargeso that .the ball-shaped member can be rolled therein to squeeze out the entire contentsof; the container, said neck portion' having a longitudinal slott through which'the neckportion'of said'tubular container maybe slid ywhen introducing the container through saidlongitudinal opening.

HENRY G. GILES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Allen Aug. 1, 1939 

